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The Art of Inside Out An in-depth look into the making of Pixar’s upcoming animated film, INSIDE OUT, with a foreward by star Amy Poehler. Learn more | See related books
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Apparently, despite what we were told in the West decade after decade, Russia did place a great emphasis on the visual design of their everyday world. Written by four Russian ex-pats, this book attempts to establish the former Soviet Union as a design powerhouse.
The book deals mostly with consumer items from the era of Sputnik to the collapse of the Soviet government in the late 1980's, with a bulk of that being fixed upon the 1960's and 70's. Russian designers were placed in the crux of creating visually appealing goods with the Soviet penchant for utilitarian function. Throw in the factors of limited manufacturing resources and dedication to Russia's then leadership in the space race, and a very distinctive style begins to emerge: clean, simple and very straight foward.
The authors choose a good cross section of items to examine: the Aeroflot logo, the infamous Zaporozhet automobile, a hygienically dubious soda machine, and a popular television show for children among them. Eschewing the drone of academia, each item if accompanied by an essay with a pithy or sardonic tone. When describing the notorious Russian cigarettes, Belomorkanals, he writes that they were filled with "a substance that was swept up from the floor of a long closed tobacco factory."
Where the book is lacking is in its format. Most books on design are large, full color, with glorious photographs. This book is the sized to fit a pocket, with most items represented by one single B&W stock photo. Two slender inserts of color plates improve the situation only slightly.
The final word on Soviet design? No, but a good starting place for those who are interested.
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Aiming to profile icons of "Soviet magpie modernism," editor Mikhail Idov and writer Bela Shayevich, aided with guest columns by the likes of Vitaly Komar, Lara Vapnyar and Gary Shteyngart, have collected an amazing treasure trove of historical artifacts in this handsomely designed new book.
While not exactly iPhones or `68 Mustangs, these icons are "the things with which the last three generations of Soviets grew up." The photos drip with nostalgia, and the texts are wonderfully offbeat, e.g. "In the Soviet Union, collapsible drinking cups were a common sight. Coincidentally, so were collapsed drunks."
The reprint of the ad with hip young Russians heading toward their diminutive Zaporozhets car is alone worth the price of the book. Yet there are countless info tidbits on everything from the indestructible Raketa watch to Krugozor magazine to the Zaporozhets that had a removable floor (for ice fishing). You can also read about the first Soviet PC, vertushkas, and the revered beveled drinking glass (designed by none other than Vera Mukhina), and of course the venerable Ural motorcycle.
In short, this is an ideal reference work for young Russophiles who missed the Soviet era, and a walk down memory lane for those who didn't.
A great tribute to things all strange, ugly, and ubiquitous in the Soviet Union. Each story contains a photograph of the subject, its history of joining the culture, and sometimes an interesting essay with one of the writer's perspective of what the subject meant to them in the days of their youth.
I greatly enjoyed a trip back the memory lane and the light humor of the stories. Highly recommend to anyone interested in a quick tour into particulars of an everyday life of Soviet Union.
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It's interesting to read what Americans think about Soviets all these years later. Having grown up during the tail end of the of the Cold War, I was used to hearing the American media characterize Soviet culture as being drab, Soviet technology as being clunky, and the Soviet people as being more or less unattractive and dull.
What is especially sad is seeing such stupid caricatures perpetuated to this day by books like this. The pictures in this book depict interesting items of Soviet pop culture and industry, revealing a side of Soviet life of which most Westerners were (and are) unaware. The pictures make this book interesting. But the text -- well, that's another story. At every turn we are reminded how dull, drab, and behind the "capitalist" countries the Soviet Union was. Even when praise is to be offered for something, it's generally attributed to the influence of the West, such as this commentary on a popular Soviet magazine for youth: "Like many good things, Krugozor appeared as the result of one of Nikita Kruschev's trips to the West."
Essentially, this book reads like a piece of propaganda produced by someone unaware that the Cold War is over.
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Radio producer Roman Mars and I profiled Idov this book on the design podcast "99% Invisible." If you're interested in Soviet design, you can hear some of the items so well described in the book: the magazine-with-a-record "Krugozor" and the children's program "Spokoinoi Nochi Malyshi" in particular. So take a listen--it's an intriguing lost world that Idov and his fellow essayists bring to light so well. I do hope there might be publisher interest in a sequel, as this volume just scratches the surface of everyday Soviet life.
[...]
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This item: Made in Russia: Unsung Icons of Soviet Design
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